This video was made at the request of @penauthor.
Trust me, with writers like @ericvancewalton and @johnnyray on steemit, I may not be the best one to ask for tips on writing better... but, since I was asked...
THE VIDEO
TIPS
While these tips were specifically aimed at the #fiction crowd, I do believe that anyone posting any form of writing on steemit could potentially learn something from the advice, so I've written some of it out for the folks who don't watch videos. I'll keep them short and simple, but I think that you'll get the points.
Writers can have a tendency to "write themselves into a story." This is where events, people, or places from the life of the author make their way into the story. Unless an author is specifically trying to avoid this, I say run with it. If it is what is flowing out of you when you write, then let it flow.
Proof-reading is crucial. Unfortunately, the hardest writing for an author to proof read is usually going to be their own. This is because they are familiar with the text. Since they think that they know what they wrote, often they will read it how they wanted to write it, without catching any errors that they may have made. I find this to be very true for myself. Whenever possible, try to have someone else help you proof read your writing prior to posting.
About a year ago I came across a post from @the-alien about some tips for writers. One thing that stuck out to me was that he suggested using shorter paragraphs. Many popular authors these days are doing this, so why shouldn't we? This was a tip that I picked up more recently and have been using in my writing on steemit.
Avoiding long blocks of text is going to be wise. Most readers these days are not going to want to look at an endless page of words. Add images when you are able to, or change up the size of the text to break up the monotony. This is what I have been doing in my Love, Like His novel.
I think that it is important to write about what you want to write about. Rather than trying to guess what your readers may want to read, just be yourself and write what you want. That way, a real person with real interests can connect with real readers. In the end, this will be a much better experience for everyone involved.
When possible, be consistent in your chapter posting. Though this is not necessary, it will help. If a reader knows that every day when they get home from work they can check out your next chapter, it'll help keep them coming back for more. Once one book or series is finished, they may stick around for the next one.
Until next time…
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